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CRIMEA WATCH: HOW TRAVEL GUIDES ARE HANDLING UKRAINE'S BREAK-UP
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
The recent events on the Black Sea peninsula leave publishers with
tough decisions to make
SIMON RICHMOND Tuesday 08 April 2014
As Crimea changes flags from Ukraine to Russia, publishers of
guidebooks and maps must decide whether to play catch-up or
wait-and-see on the coverage they give to the disputed Black Sea
peninsula.
With the UK Government advising against travel in Crimea, and concerns
about general security, it's unlikely that many Brits are planning
their summer, or any other, holidays on the pebbly beaches of Yalta
or Novy Svit. But for guidebook publishers, such as Lonely Planet
and Bradt, both with Ukraine titles, and authors such as myself
(researching the next edition of Lonely Planet's Russia guide),
how to cover what's happening in Crimea is a pressing issue.
The fourth edition of Lonely Planet's Ukraine guide, on sale in May,
was researched during 2013 and at the printers as the protests in Kiev
led to the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych's administration and
the turn of events in Crimea. Branislava Vladisavljevic, destination
editor for the region at Lonely Planet, confirms that the company
is commissioning an author to update the e-book on Ukraine and
all relevant information onlonelyplanet.com. "We are monitoring
the situation closely and responding accordingly, with coverage of
the crisis and essential travel details for travellers considering
visiting Crimea," says Vladisavljevic.
So fast have the changes been, that most online travel sites have yet
to update their information about Crimea and Ukraine. Rough Guides'
website doesn't note the FCO travel advisory in its online offerings
for Ukraine, which the company covers in print in a chapter of its
Europe on a Budget guide, published in March this year. Online guide,
tryukraine.com, has some updates on its blog, while Washington DC-based
National Geographic, which picked Crimea as one of its best trip tips
for 2013, has decided to show the region on its maps as a "disputed
territory", with accompanying explanatory text.
According to Moscow-based journalist Leonid Ragozin, who researched
the Crimea chapter for Lonely Planet's Ukraine guide, the impact
of Russia's annexation will be "massive". He expects around half
the chapter "will be irrelevant within six months". Already, all
international flights, bar those from Moscow, have been suspended to
the region. Train and bus services, which transit Ukraine, are also
affected as passport and customs formalities are yet to be worked out
for what has effectively become an international border. Apart from
flying, the only other way of currently accessing the peninsula is
by the ferry to Kerch from Port Kavkaz in Russia's Krasnodar region,
"which involves an arduous trip," notes Ragozin.
READ MORE: COME TO CRIMEA: COULD TOURISM HELP HEAL THE DIVISIONS
IN UKRAINE?
Visitors will need to be aware that the clocks are out of step with
surrounding territories, at GMT plus four - the alignment of local
clocks with those in Moscow, which involved advancing two hours,
took place a week ago. The replacement of the Ukrainian currency,
the hryvnia, with the rouble is already taking place.
Unclear at present is whether visas will be needed for tourist visits;
while it was part of Ukraine they were not required for visits of
less than 90 days. "The local authorities have said they will keep
visa-free visits in place for Westerners," says Ragozin, but that
appears to conflict with Russian rules that require visas for all
tourist visits to its territory.
Such uncertainties are the reason why Adrian Phillips, publishing
director at Bradt Travel Guides, is in no hurry to make changes to the
company's Ukraine title, last published in mid 2013 and which isn't
due for a new edition until early 2016. "It would be better if the
guide was closer to its update cycle," says Phillips, who admits that
there has been a drop in sales for the book since December. "But it's
still very much a developing situation. Another week passes and any
changes we might make would be out of date again. There's a danger in
fiddling too much too early. However, we do make vital changes when a
book comes up for a reprint, and put guidebook updates on our website."
Conversely, Phillips is quick to point out how Bradt is not "a big
beast like Lonely Planet" and can thus be fairly fleet-footed when
it comes to making publishing decisions. Bradt has carved a niche
for itself, publishing guides to such off-the-beaten track and
geo-politically sensitive locations as South Sudan, Palestine and
Nagorno Karabakh, which is included as part of its Armenia title,
even though the territory is internationally recognised as part
of Azerbaijan.
"We were the first company to publish guidebooks to Kosovo and
Bosnia," points out Phillips, "so we're no strangers to dealing with
places where you need to tread carefully and recognise raw cultural
sensitivities."
Would Bradt, then, consider publishing a separate guide to Crimea? "I
wouldn't rule it out," says Phillips, "if it were to become a region
for people to visit in its own right."
A small fraction of UK visitors to Ukraine (which numbered 80,000
according to FCO figures for 2012) make it to Crimea. A report by the
Crimean authorities last year placed a high priority on improving the
region's tourism image internationally - something recent events have
undermined. He notes that President Vladimir Putin has committed to
sending budget sector Russian workers to the region for subsidised
holidays, as back in the days of the Soviet Union.
Regardless of which flag flies over Crimea, the region has much to
recommend to a traveller. Both Ragozin and Marc di Duca, his co-author
on the Ukraine guide, highlight Bakhchysarai, the former capital of the
Crimean Tatar Khans, a town that has undergone a minor renaissance in
recent years and where visitors can stay with friendly Tatar families.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for travel information publishers,
particularly in this age of Google maps and other online cartography
sources, has been the dramatic surge in map sales of the region. Jon
Woolcott, buying and marketing director at Stanfords, says: "Sales
of maps covering the region are three times what they were in the
two months prior to what's been happening in Ukraine." He puts the
increased demand down not only to journalists needing to get a handle
on the area, but also the general public wanting to know more about
a part of the world that they previously might have only associated
with the Charge of the Light Brigade.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/crimea-watch-how-travel-guides-ar
e-handling-ukraines-breakup-9246396.html
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
The recent events on the Black Sea peninsula leave publishers with
tough decisions to make
SIMON RICHMOND Tuesday 08 April 2014
As Crimea changes flags from Ukraine to Russia, publishers of
guidebooks and maps must decide whether to play catch-up or
wait-and-see on the coverage they give to the disputed Black Sea
peninsula.
With the UK Government advising against travel in Crimea, and concerns
about general security, it's unlikely that many Brits are planning
their summer, or any other, holidays on the pebbly beaches of Yalta
or Novy Svit. But for guidebook publishers, such as Lonely Planet
and Bradt, both with Ukraine titles, and authors such as myself
(researching the next edition of Lonely Planet's Russia guide),
how to cover what's happening in Crimea is a pressing issue.
The fourth edition of Lonely Planet's Ukraine guide, on sale in May,
was researched during 2013 and at the printers as the protests in Kiev
led to the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych's administration and
the turn of events in Crimea. Branislava Vladisavljevic, destination
editor for the region at Lonely Planet, confirms that the company
is commissioning an author to update the e-book on Ukraine and
all relevant information onlonelyplanet.com. "We are monitoring
the situation closely and responding accordingly, with coverage of
the crisis and essential travel details for travellers considering
visiting Crimea," says Vladisavljevic.
So fast have the changes been, that most online travel sites have yet
to update their information about Crimea and Ukraine. Rough Guides'
website doesn't note the FCO travel advisory in its online offerings
for Ukraine, which the company covers in print in a chapter of its
Europe on a Budget guide, published in March this year. Online guide,
tryukraine.com, has some updates on its blog, while Washington DC-based
National Geographic, which picked Crimea as one of its best trip tips
for 2013, has decided to show the region on its maps as a "disputed
territory", with accompanying explanatory text.
According to Moscow-based journalist Leonid Ragozin, who researched
the Crimea chapter for Lonely Planet's Ukraine guide, the impact
of Russia's annexation will be "massive". He expects around half
the chapter "will be irrelevant within six months". Already, all
international flights, bar those from Moscow, have been suspended to
the region. Train and bus services, which transit Ukraine, are also
affected as passport and customs formalities are yet to be worked out
for what has effectively become an international border. Apart from
flying, the only other way of currently accessing the peninsula is
by the ferry to Kerch from Port Kavkaz in Russia's Krasnodar region,
"which involves an arduous trip," notes Ragozin.
READ MORE: COME TO CRIMEA: COULD TOURISM HELP HEAL THE DIVISIONS
IN UKRAINE?
Visitors will need to be aware that the clocks are out of step with
surrounding territories, at GMT plus four - the alignment of local
clocks with those in Moscow, which involved advancing two hours,
took place a week ago. The replacement of the Ukrainian currency,
the hryvnia, with the rouble is already taking place.
Unclear at present is whether visas will be needed for tourist visits;
while it was part of Ukraine they were not required for visits of
less than 90 days. "The local authorities have said they will keep
visa-free visits in place for Westerners," says Ragozin, but that
appears to conflict with Russian rules that require visas for all
tourist visits to its territory.
Such uncertainties are the reason why Adrian Phillips, publishing
director at Bradt Travel Guides, is in no hurry to make changes to the
company's Ukraine title, last published in mid 2013 and which isn't
due for a new edition until early 2016. "It would be better if the
guide was closer to its update cycle," says Phillips, who admits that
there has been a drop in sales for the book since December. "But it's
still very much a developing situation. Another week passes and any
changes we might make would be out of date again. There's a danger in
fiddling too much too early. However, we do make vital changes when a
book comes up for a reprint, and put guidebook updates on our website."
Conversely, Phillips is quick to point out how Bradt is not "a big
beast like Lonely Planet" and can thus be fairly fleet-footed when
it comes to making publishing decisions. Bradt has carved a niche
for itself, publishing guides to such off-the-beaten track and
geo-politically sensitive locations as South Sudan, Palestine and
Nagorno Karabakh, which is included as part of its Armenia title,
even though the territory is internationally recognised as part
of Azerbaijan.
"We were the first company to publish guidebooks to Kosovo and
Bosnia," points out Phillips, "so we're no strangers to dealing with
places where you need to tread carefully and recognise raw cultural
sensitivities."
Would Bradt, then, consider publishing a separate guide to Crimea? "I
wouldn't rule it out," says Phillips, "if it were to become a region
for people to visit in its own right."
A small fraction of UK visitors to Ukraine (which numbered 80,000
according to FCO figures for 2012) make it to Crimea. A report by the
Crimean authorities last year placed a high priority on improving the
region's tourism image internationally - something recent events have
undermined. He notes that President Vladimir Putin has committed to
sending budget sector Russian workers to the region for subsidised
holidays, as back in the days of the Soviet Union.
Regardless of which flag flies over Crimea, the region has much to
recommend to a traveller. Both Ragozin and Marc di Duca, his co-author
on the Ukraine guide, highlight Bakhchysarai, the former capital of the
Crimean Tatar Khans, a town that has undergone a minor renaissance in
recent years and where visitors can stay with friendly Tatar families.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for travel information publishers,
particularly in this age of Google maps and other online cartography
sources, has been the dramatic surge in map sales of the region. Jon
Woolcott, buying and marketing director at Stanfords, says: "Sales
of maps covering the region are three times what they were in the
two months prior to what's been happening in Ukraine." He puts the
increased demand down not only to journalists needing to get a handle
on the area, but also the general public wanting to know more about
a part of the world that they previously might have only associated
with the Charge of the Light Brigade.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/crimea-watch-how-travel-guides-ar
e-handling-ukraines-breakup-9246396.html